Electronic modules, such as electronic or optoelectronic transceiver or transponder modules, are increasingly used in modern technology. An electronic module will typically include various components (e.g., discrete elements, microchips, integrated circuits, input/output interfaces, etc.) connected in various ways to one another. For example, many components can be interconnected by surface-mounting them to a printed circuit board (PCB) having electrical traces embedded therein that provide the appropriate interconnections. To accommodate interfaces with other electronic modules or input/output transmission lines, other forms of component interconnection may be required. For example, electrical lines, such as wires, may need to extend from a PCB to another PCB or to another electronic module (e.g., an optoelectronic transducer) that is not mounted to the PCB. The electrical lines extending from a PCB will tend to be bulkier, flimsier, more lossy, and will tend to introduce and be susceptible to more electromagnetic interference (EMI), among other things, than other forms of interconnection, such as the traces embedded in the PCB.
Moreover, an improvement or change made to the electronic module might entail use of additional electrical lines. For example, a first electronic module connected to the PCB might be improved by integrating a second electronic module with the first electronic module. Furthermore, the second electronic module might require control or data signals from a microprocessor on the PCB. The same issues (e.g., bulk, loss, EMI, etc.) that arise in connection with the electrical lines for the first electronic module must also be faced in connection with electrical lines used to provide control or data signals to the second electronic module. Moreover, the first electronic module's interface may be a set of leads or pins conforming with a standard pin-out interface and may not have sufficient room to accommodate such new electrical lines. Thus, interconnecting the PCB to an improved electronic module presents various challenges.